


Leverage

by AnExhaustedArmadillo



Category: Better Call Saul (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Cartels, Drugs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Soulmates, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:01:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23471392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnExhaustedArmadillo/pseuds/AnExhaustedArmadillo
Summary: The obligatory Soulmate AU.
Relationships: Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca/Ignacio "Nacho" Varga
Comments: 6
Kudos: 47





	Leverage

Nacho pulled into the restaurant parking lot. It seemed like a normal day on the outside, but he could tell by the look on Domingo’s face when he walked in that it wasn’t. There was music playing from the kitchens, and someone was singing along, cooking. It could be a friend, it was more likely an enemy. Nacho went immediately to the kitchen.

“Oh, hey!” The man in the kitchen said, indeed cooking food. He continued in Spanish, which is what really caught Nacho. “You’re here! Right on time.”

He knew those words. Knew them incredibly well because they’d been tattooed on his abdomen since the day he was born. Nacho gulped, if what he thought was happening was happening then the next thing out of the man’s mouth would be-

“Hold on one second. Wait. You are going to love this. I made this just for you,” He held out a plate to Nacho, who was growing pale as every word the man said matched up exactly with the paragraph inlaid on his body. He swallowed. There was still time, he still had to say-

He continued, in Spanish. “Never in your life have you tasted something so delicious, it’s true. Wait, wait… you’re gonna die.”

Nacho stood there, still trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. It dawned upon him then that he was expected to respond, and he had no idea what to say. He looked at the plate, but with the sickening realization that the man in front of him was his soulmate, coupled with his continued discomfort at his presence, he wasn’t hungry. Not that he was in the habit of accepting food from strangers, anyway.

“No, gracias.” He ended up saying. The man took his rejection well enough, and he didn’t even pause, a clear signal to Nacho that those words were not tattooed on him anywhere. So, while the man in front of him was undoubtedly his soulmate, Nacho was not his. Very well, he could handle that. The man was trying to convince him to eat the food, but Nacho wasn’t really listening.

“This is a special recipe, a family secret.” He tried to entice him.

“Salamanca family?”

“Them! Soy Eduardo. But you can call me Lalo.” The man smiled. Shit, Nacho thought. Of course his soulmate had to be a goddamn Salamanca.

***

Nacho had always thought growing up that his soulmate was going to be a kind, warm girl. The kind that would cook Nacho apple pies and chocolate chip cookies. And maybe she would work at a coffee shop or a bakery and she would see Nacho pass by the window everyday and she’d bake things just for him and one day he’d go into the store and she’d offer him some cake or cookie and that would be how they met. Nacho thought maybe she would be a little nervous, given how long the words were on his stomach. He wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to be so nervous, Nacho already loved her.

That sweet, generous, loving and Spanish American girl that Nacho had always dreamed of marrying was resolutely not who his soulmate was. Lalo Salamanca was nothing like that. Lalo was charismatic, that much was true, but Nacho didn’t think he could ever call him “loving”. He was smart, sure, and powerful, but he used those skills selfishly, never to help others. Nacho couldn’t fault him for it. He did the same thing, for the most part.

Nacho had also never thought that his soulbond might be unrequited. He’d heard stories, sure. Almost ten percent of the population had unrequited soulmates, and that number had been low enough that Nacho had been able to believe, without too much worry, that he wasn’t one of them. He was also wrong about that.

Lalo hadn’t reacted at all when Nacho had spoken to him, only to try and get him to eat his food. Other than that, there had been no response, no acknowledgment that Nacho could have said anything remotely important. It was fine. Nacho tried to convince himself that it was fine.

On the one hand, it was a horrible fate to have an unrequited soulmate, but even worse now that he knew he had one. On the other hand, Nacho couldn’t imagine having a soulmate like the Salamancas. They were cruel, all of them, each in their own way. Nacho didn’t believe that even soulmate status could protect him from their brutality. A small part of Nacho hoped that maybe Lalo hadn’t said his words, maybe there was still some sweet girl out there with something suave written on her and the fact that Lalo had said them was just a terribly unlucky coincidence, one of God’s cruel jokes to make Nacho think his bond was unrequited.

It didn’t matter if Lalo really was his soulmate or not, because as soon as he found out that Nacho had those words tattooed on his body, if he remembered their first conversation at all, he would think he was. The only thing worse than being a Salamanca soulmate was being an unrequited Salamanca soulmate. If Lalo found out, there was a chance he would just kill Nacho outright, to avoid the liability. Perhaps he’d kill him out of anger, or disgust. Nacho was certainly disgusted with himself.

Maybe, Nacho thought with a shudder, Lalo would leverage it against him. It would be different if Nacho was also Lalo’s soulmate, they’d be on pretty equal footing then. But this way, Nacho was undoubtedly more invested, and Lalo could use that knowledge to manipulate him, the same way that Fring was blackmailing Nacho. It became clear, then, that Nacho could not let Lalo know, under any circumstances, that he was his soulmate.

It shouldn’t be a challenge. Not at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, yes, I am in this. Wanted to get in on the fic writing while it was still early, gotta say I love these two together, don't know what that says about me. My tumblr is: madethisbecauseimthirstyfornacho
> 
> Gotta say y'all, comments motivate me more than anything else, and I do want to write more chapters for these two, so consider dropping a comment below! I'm also always open to prompts!


End file.
